Book Review: Food of Oman

Featuring rustic Middle Eastern dishes infused with the flavors of East Africa, India, and Persia, "The Food of Oman "presents the delicious diversity of the tiny Arabian Sultanate through 100 recipes, lush photography, and stories from the people behind the food in an immersive introduction to a fascinating, little-known corner of the world. 

The recipes in "The Food of Oman" offer cooks a new world of flavors, techniques, and inspiration, while the lush photography and fascinating stories provide an introduction to the culture of a people whose adventurous palates and deep love of feeding and being fed gave rise to this unparalleled cuisine

Expected publication: 10/13/2015
Campell's website 
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My true passion is people. The conflicts and comforts of the table can transcend or exaggerate cultural differences and it's these connections and chasms that fascinate me as much as what's on the plate. 

My cookbook includes history, art, and stories from the people behind the complex dishes of Oman and much of my memoir focuses on the absence of food rather than the pleasures of the table. 

That said, a shared meal and a steaming cup of tea were my first point of connection with people different from myself, so I instinctually continue to approach the world food-first as I seek out authentic, human connections from Beirut to Hong Kong to Mexico City. The Middle East remains the place where I feel these connections most potently and the stories, perspectives, and voices of the people there are still the ones I enjoy sharing most.

Beyond writing about my own experiences, as an editor, I love cultivating new voices and helping writers tell their stories better. I'm especially excited by the challenges and rewards of working in a multinational setting and promoting diversity in the publishing industry. 

My Review:
Unlike a lot of reviewers I see, I haven't actually been to Oman. My roots lie in Bangladesh and truthfully, I've not even been there yet. But I love the culture and I love cooking. So I requested a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The forward, written by a colleague, gave us a view of Campell as a friend, and then her introduction gave us a view of her as a person, along with Oman's history and facts that add gravitas to the meaning of the recipes ahead. After all, if you know how recipes came to be, they somehow come out greater than just blindly throwing things together. Being already familiar with the spices used thanks to many Sunday cooking sessions with my dad, I didn't need to be in front of the dishes for my mouth to start watering. Campell includes recipes for all sorts of palates-- fish lovers, meat lovers, vegans*, Vegetarians, and these recipes, by nature, are all low fat or can be slightly tweaked to be low fat. Throughout the recipes, Campell includes pictures and passages of Omani culture.
Overall: Would I buy this for my shelves at home? In a heartbeat. Would I buy it for a friend? Definitely.
*many recipes call for ghee, which can be animal-based fat. This can be substituted by coconut oil.

My rating: 5/5

Book Review: The New Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook

Chef Neela Paniz grew up in an elegant Indian home, where her mother's cook prepared wonderful delicacies on a daily basis--the same marvelous regional dishes that she recreates for those lucky enough to dine in her Los Angeles-area Bombay Cafe. Now Neela has compiled a collection of recipes for her best dishes--focusing on the light, the healthy, the fresh, and the easy-to-prepare. Two-color throughout.

The rich and complex flavors of classic Indian dishes like Lamb Biryani, Palak Paneer, and chicken in a creamy tomato-butter sauce can take hours to develop through such techniques as extended braising and low simmering. In The New Indian Slow Cooker, veteran cooking teacher and chef Neela Paniz revolutionizes the long, slow approach to making Indian cuisine by rethinking its traditional recipes for the slow cooker.

She showcases the best regional curries, dals made with lentils and beans, vegetable and rice sides, as well as key accompaniments like chutneys, flatbreads, raita, and fresh Indian cheese. Using this fix-it-and-forget-it approach, you can produce complete and authentic Indian meals that taste like they came from Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bangalore, or your favorite Indian restaurant.

Featuring both classic and innovative recipes such as Pork Vindaloo, Kashmiri Potato Curry, Date and Tamarind Chutney, and Curried Chickpeas, these full-flavor, no-fuss dishes are perfect for busy cooks any day of the week.

My Review:

"No one in India uses a slow cooker."

At least, not yet. This book piqued my interest because, growing up in an Indian home, I thought "Slow cooker? That'd be nice!" Usually my husband and I can only cook Indian on Sundays, when we have the time to devote to it. But to have dinner cooking while we work was something I had to try.

It's not like I've never used a crock pot before. I already know that chicken curry freezes and reheats really well in a slow cooker. But I didn't have any idea how to make it fresh in a slow cooker without it becoming a complete disaster. And that's curry--never mind Dal or Chutney.

I was so pleased to find recipes for childhood favorites like Tikka Masala, which my dad and I actually "cheated" at and bought premade packs to make it. I had previously thought that if my father couldn't make it, it was ridiculously complicated--this is fortunately not the case.

What I admire most about this book is the educational aspect. Along with each recipe is a little piece of history behind its origin, so we get a better idea of how the English and Portuguese influenced Indian cooking.

I was excited to share some recipes with my father, and definitely have some people in mind that I'll recommend this book to.

Star rating: Five of five with a complimentary burp.